WordPress co-founder information countersuit towards WP Engine over trademark violations

There’s been one other flip in Automattic and WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg’s ongoing authorized battle with WordPress supplier WP Engine. In a counterclaim Automattic filed as a part of WP Engine’s lawsuit towards the corporate, it claims funding from personal fairness agency Silver Lake led WP Engine to violate its logos and fail to contribute to the open-source WordPress mission.

Automattic believes that following a $250 million funding from Silver Lake, which gave the agency a controlling curiosity in WP Engine, the internet hosting supplier “sought to inflate its valuation and engineer a fast, profitable exit.” It allegedly did that, per the counterclaim, by describing itself because the “WordPress Know-how Firm” and permitting its companions to consult with it as “WordPress Engine,” violations of the WordPress trademark. Automattic claims merchandise WP Engine launched like “Core WordPress” and “Headless WordPress” additional obfuscated the corporate’s function, whereas WP Engine additionally didn’t commit a promised “5 p.c of its sources to help the WordPress mission.”

The counterclaim goes on to say that Automattic and Mullenweg tried to work out these points with WP Engine by providing a “honest trademark license,” however the firm solely “pretended to interact in licensing discussions,” whereas really delaying any sort of settlement as a result of it might “influence its earnings.” Maintaining earnings up was vital to WP Engine as a result of Silver Lake was allegedly attempting to promote WP Engine at a $2 billion valuation, and had even made “overtures to Automattic” about it.

A WP Engine spokesperson supplied the next assertion to Engadget:

WP Engine’s use of the WordPress trademark to consult with the open-source software program is in step with longstanding business observe and honest use beneath settled trademark legislation, and we’ll defend towards these baseless claims.

Auttomatic’s countersuit tells a unique story than the one WP Engine spun in its authentic lawsuit towards the corporate, which accused Mullenweg of “abuse of energy, extortion and greed.” WP Engine’s authentic criticism claimed that Automattic requested the corporate for eight p.c of its month-to-month income as a royalty fee. Mullenweg’s makes an attempt to punish WP Engine have been seen as so aggressive on the time that over 100 Automattic staff voluntarily left the corporate in response. WP Engine gained a preliminary injunction in response to its lawsuit, but it surely looks like the story is perhaps extra difficult than it initially appeared.

Replace, October 24, 3:35PM ET: Clarified Automattic’s relationship to open-source WordPress. The corporate just isn’t WordPress’ creator.